Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

Today, we hear the famous interchange between Jesus and Peter on the topic of forgiveness. “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Mt 18:21). Peter probably thought he was being generous by suggesting that one should forgive up to seven times. After all, seven is the number of perfection. But Jesus turns the tables completely, saying: “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Mt 18:22). 

Jesus doesn’t just raise the bar—he tears up the scorecard. He is not asking us to count to 490, but to abandon the very notion of keeping track. He calls us to imitate the Father’s mercy, which cannot be numbered. As the Psalmist says, “Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger, abounding in mercy…. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us” (Ps 103:8,12).

During this season of Lent, our hearts are being stretched to embrace this immeasurable mercy of our God. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a decision of the heart—a decision to stop being a collector of debts and to start being a channel of God’s grace and mercy.

Are you carrying old hurts within your heart? Are you fettered by resentments that have grown roots over the years? Unforgiveness is a heavy chain that hurts you more than the one who wronged you, acting as a barrier to your own peace. This Lent, the time has come to stop counting offenses. Let us move forward, not in our own strength, but in the grace of God, finding true freedom by releasing the debts of others. Set down that burden and let God’s healing begin.

Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB